Uhde Inventa-Fischer starts up polylactic acid plant in Germany

01 December 2010 18:59[Source: ICIS news]

DUSSELDORF, Germany (ICIS)--Uhde Inventa-Fischer has started up its 500 tonne/year polylactic acid (PLA) pilot plant in Guben, Germany, as it looks to take advantage of growing demand, the polymerisation plant builder said on Wednesday.

Hagen said the completion of the pilot plant was an important step for a scale-up to a 60,000 tonne/year plant. The company aims to begin designing the plant at the end of the first quarter following the successful completion of the plant’s test programme.

“The purpose of the plant is to demonstrate our technology and provide large product samples of 1,000kg or more,” he added.

Hagen said that demand for PLA was growing in Europe as well as in the Far East and central US, adding that Uhde Inventa-Fischer could further expand capacities.

“In Europe we have calculated that the potential demand for PLA could be up to 800,000 tonnes/year by 2015,” he added.

Uhde Inventa-Fischer is a subsidiary of German engineering company Uhde GmbH.